Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Quintessential Kid Films from the 80's

Hello kids! Considering how I am currently in an 80’s state
of mind, today I offer you this list of Quintessential Kid Films from the 80’s.
These are a special group of films for me because, me being an 80’s child well,
I grew up watching these movies, they hold a special place in my heart and
remind me of a time when things were simpler and life still had some magic and
mystery to it. Let’s face it, once we “grow up” it’s easy to lose that sense of
wonder, but the good thing is we can always go back to our childhood films to
remember it. The films on this list never fail to bring back that old feeling because
let’s face it, these films from the 80’s had a special kind of magic to them
that many of todays modern fantasy films just don’t have, is it that I got old?
Or is it that these films from the 80’s had something truly special to them?
Whatever the case maybe, all I know is that this unique ‘80’s magic’ is what
keeps me revisiting them. Whenever I feel there’s no more magic and wonder, I watch
one of these and I’m instantly 12 years old again. So sit back and relax, take
a trip down memory lane and enjoy this list of Quintessential Kid Movies from
the 80’s Part I, and if you enjoy this article, dont forget to check out this link for: the second installment! There’s more where these came from!

Title: The Goonies (1985)

Comments: Well, this for me is the king of all kid movies
from the 80’s. It’s got this magical thing about it that stays with me, when
people say that movies from the 80’s have a special magic to them, this is what
they mean. No matter how many times I see it, I still love it. I think it’s the
fact that I identified with these misfit kids, trying to survive in a world
that seems to spiral out of their control. I loved that sleepy suburban town of
Aurora. It just looked so homey, I wanted to live there. Which is why when
these rich dudes threatened to tear it down so they could build a golf course
over it, they were instantly my enemies. But hey, The Goonies aren’t giving up
the fight because “Goonies never say die!” The Goonies is basically the kid
version of an Indiana Jones film. It’s filled with booby traps, sunken pirate
ships and hidden treasures, but it never gets too scary of graphic like the
Indiana Jones movies sometimes got. The entire cast is extremely likable and
many of these kids went on to have long fruitful cinematic careers. Every kid
in the movie is a character all its own. Let’s see, we have an extremely young
Josh Brolin playing the oldest of the kids; we have Sean Astin playing ‘Mikey’
the heart and soul of the Goonies and Corey Feldman playing the sleazy ‘Mouth’.
Joey Pantoliano plays one of the villainous “Fratelli Brothers”, who are also
after the treasure. The late great Anne Ramsey plays their crazy mom. It all
comes together under the direction of Richard Donner and producer Steven
Spielberg who specialized in making films of this nature. To top things of, we
have Cindy Lauper singing “It’s Good Enough” in the extremely memorable
soundtrack. A true gem of the 80’s, if you haven’t seen it what are you waiting
for?

Quote: “Follow them size fives!”

Title: Explorers (1985)

Comments: So when I say that Spielberg specialized in producing films
for kids, this is what I mean. In 1985, Spielberg went on to produce various
adventure films aimed at the pre-teen target audience. Explorers was one of
them. Explorer’s is basically director Joe
Dante’s version of The Goonies, but with a sci-fi angle. It was released just one
month after The Goonies premiered in June 1985; so I guess 1985 was the summer
of adventurous kids. Films of this nature where hot back in those days, it was
all about that magical, whimsical feeling of amazement we all had at that age, where
everything is amazing and new and magical. Some of us are still lucky enough to
retain it, I know I don’t ever want to let go of that feeling of wonderment,
which is why I keep revisiting these movies. Explorers tells the tale of three
friends who are all dreaming the same thing, in the message they see a pattern,
a message from space. What is it? Are they being contacted by alien beings from
another world? Of course they end up doing what any group of 10 years would do,
they build their own spaceship and call it “The Thunder Road!” So basically,
this movie has that goofy Looney Tunes sense of humor that Joe Dante always
infuses his movies with, but also that sense of wonderment and adventure seen
in films like The Goonies. The three kids in Explorers are again, same as The
Goonies, outcasts that don’t really fit into society, but together, they end up
doing something amazing. The film was directed by Joe Dante, the guy behind
Gremlins (1984), The Burbs (1989) and many other cool movies from the 80’s. It
also stars the great Robert Picardo, but I won’t tell you who he plays. The
makeup effects are great on this one, they were done by the great Rob Bottin,
who is a personal hero of mine, the guy has created some of the coolest
monsters in movie history. The film also stars River Phoenix and Ethan Hawke
when they were just kids. Highly recommend this fun and criminally underrated
sci-fi flick!

Quote: “If this is all a dream, what’s going to happen when
we wake up?”

Title: Monster Squad (1987)

Comments: Monster Squad is one of the most misunderstood
movies in cinematic history. Too scary for kids and too silly for adults, it
found no middle ground and died a quick death a the box office. It stirred up some
controversy because it had kids using foul language (as if that didn’t happen!)
and kids shooting guns! But since good
movies always find their audience, The Monster Squad was later discovered by
its legions of rabid fans! I know you are all out there, gimme a holla why
don’t ya? Monster Squad tells the story of a mystical amulet that can send all
evil into another dimension. Where does that black hole lead? Who the hell
knows! But it sucks away the bad guys Evil Dead style! So anyhow, Dracula knows
that this magical amulet is the only thing that can stop him from ruling the
world so he is in the hunt for it, unfortunately, it rests in the hands of this
group of kids that call themselves The Monster Squad! Monster Squad rules for
many reasons, number one it reunites all these classical monsters: The Mummy,
Dracula, Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Wolfman! All
in the same movie! We even get some of Dracula’s vampire brides! The monster
effects were done by none other than the legendary Stan Winston, which is
probably the reason why these monsters look so freaking cool! If The Goonies
was a take on The Hardy Boys, and Explorers was the sci-fi version of The
Goonies, then Monster Squad is the horror version of The Goonies! Still not
convinced? The Monster Squad was also directed by the same director who made
Night of the Creeps (1986)! There, that should be enough to convince ya.

Quote: “If we pull this off, I’m gonna shit!”

Title: Labyrinth (1986)

Comments: I can’t imagine any list of 80’s children’s films
without Labyrinth in it. I simply can’t! This is one of the films that I have
seen the most in my whole life, along with Robocop, Big Trouble in Little China
and Aliens. What do I love so much about this here film? Well, it’s got that
special magic that only Jim Henson the creator of The Muppets, Frank Oz the
voice of Kermit the Frog, George Lucas producer extraordinaire, conceptual
artist Brian Froud and Monty Python
alumni Terry Jones could conjure up. To top things off, David Bowie plays The
Goblin King and Jennifer Connely plays Sarah, the teen that takes everything
for granted! Sarah complains about everything, but soon learns that life is
about making choices and getting things done and not about complaining. It
teaches kids actions bring forth results and that there comes a time when we
need to leave behind child like things and face the responsibilities of
adulthood head on. But aside from all that, it’s filled with some truly amazing
creatures which were brought to life by Jim Henson’s creature shop. You’ll be
amazed at all the different beings that were hand crafted for this picture. And
the cherry on the cake is Bowie taking care of the films entire soundtrack,
each song, a gem.

Quote: “Your eyes can be so cruel…just as I can be so cruel.
Yes I do believe in you…”

Film: The Dark Crystal (1982)

Comments: The Dark Crystal was Jim Henson’s first attempt at
making a film entirely populated by puppets. Not a single human is seen on
screen throughout the whole movie, it’s all puppets, which of course gives the
film a fantastical otherworldly feeling. On The Dark Crystal we follow a
‘Gelflyn’ by the name of Jen, who must find a crystal shard that will unite his
world, if he doesn’t find it before the prophesized eclipse, his world will
forever fall under the dark rule of the evil ‘Skeksis’. In this coming of age
story, Jen must become an adult and venture into the real world all on his own,
leaving behind those that brought him up. This film is a work of art to me,
everything is amazing, the art direction, the matte paintings, the puppets and
the sets are all of the highest quality. You can really get lost in this rich
and complex fantasy world.

Quote: “Hold her to you, for she is a part of you, as we are
all part of each other”

Film: Gremlins (1984)

Comments: Another Joe Dante film has made it onto my “top
children’s films from the 80’s” list, but that’s because this is precisely the
kind of film Dante specialized in making, films aimed at the pre-teen audience.
A quick glance through his repertoire will prove this to you. I mean, he’s
still making these type of films! His latest one is called The Hole (2009) and
it deals with a family moving into a house that has a gate to hell in the
basement! Gremlins was a mix between children’s film and horror film, and even
though that sounds like an unlikely alliance (and it is) it mixed both genres
effectively. On Gremlins a pair of teenagers must stop a breed of monsters from
taking over and destroying their entire town! And on Christmas Eve no less!
This movie is an achievement because it was made before the advent of computer
animation, so every single one of the Gremlins you see on screen is handled by
a puppeteer, meaning there were hundreds of puppeteers at a given time on
screen, no small feat. To mix a kids film with a horror film and then have the
film become a smash hit was a real achievement. Interesting side note: Gremlins,
along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were two of the films
responsible for creating the ‘PG-13’ rating, so thanks a lot Mr. Spielberg, for
giving Hollywood the keys to watering down every single genre!

Quote: “Tell me something Billy, how come a cute little guy
like this can turn into a thousand ugly monsters?”

Film: Annie (1982)

Comments: When I was about six, and saw this version of
Annie, it made me cry like the baby I was. I couldn’t believe these adults
actually wanted to kill little Orphan Annie, she’s so freaking adorable! This
movie makes it really damn difficult not to feel empathy for this orphan girl;
she’s kind of like the female version of Oliver! (1968) but with red curls and
a shinning personality. Trust me, it will be difficult for you not to like
little Annie. The villains of the film are played by Tim Curry and Carol Burnett,
you’ll grow to hate this really despicable duo, they play their villainous
roles to perfection. The songs in Annie are ultra catchy, I assure you, you
will be singing “Tomorrow” and “It’s a hard knock life” for days after you see
this one. Annie is a film that spans all matter of feelings; you’ll feel
empathy, sadness and complete happiness as well. This is a true classic of
children’s cinema!

Quote: “You love money and power and capitalism? You know,
they are never going to love you back…”

Film: The Last Starfighter (1984)

Comments: The Last Starfighter is important in film history
because it’s one of the first films to use computer animation extendedly. All
the scenes that take place in space are computer animated, something unheard of
at the time, so in its own way, The Last Starfighter is groundbreaking. At the
same time, it’s a story about a teenager who is trying to pursue his dreams,
but just can’t seem to quite make it. He’s just been rejected from the college
he wanted to go to, so basically, his dreams have just been cut short. Or have
they? One day, as he is playing his favorite arcade (called The Last
Starfighter) a strange car stops by and tells him to hop in. When he does, he
learns that the car isn’t only a car, it’s also a spaceship! And the video game
wasn’t just a game, it was a test! Soon, Alex Rogan finds himself soaring
through the galaxy becoming a part of the Star League and fighting in the war
against Xur and his Codan Armada. The Last Starfighter offers us imaginative
effects, likable characters and even a little bit of comedy. The tone of the
film is lighthearted and adventurous. As I mentioned before, this film along
with The Adventures of Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) and Willow (1988) represent
the birth of computer animation, see it, and marvel at how it all began.

Quote: “You might have thought it was a game. But it was also
a test. Aha! A test; sent out across the universe to find those with the gift
to be starfighters. And here you are my boy! Here you are!”

Film: The Never Ending Story (1984)

Comments: This is one of my personal favorite because it’s a
fantasy film through and through, a film that celebrates escapism and
imagination. This is the story of Balthazar Sebastian Bux, a little boy who has
trouble living in the real world. He likes drawing unicorns in class and
escaping to the worlds in his fantasy novels. One particularly nasty day when
he’s running away from a group of bullies, Balthazar decides to hide in a book
shop where he encounters a special book, a book that when read, makes you a
part of its story, and so, when Bastian begins reading The Never Ending Story,
he is whisked away to Fantasia, a land filled with Rock Eaters, Flying Luck
Dragons and Purple Buffalo. What I love about this movie is that it challenges
you to know yourself and face your fears. Also, it speaks about not giving into
despair when things get ugly; there just might be a luck dragon up ahead to
lighten up your day. Basically, I just think this is a movie that sends out many
positive messages, which I think is a great thing, especially when we consider
how movies can influence the way we see things for the rest of our lives. Till
this day I try my hardest not to let my imagination die, and it’s all because
of this film.

Quote: “People who have no hopes are easy to control and
whoever has the control…has the power!”

Film: Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

Comments: This one is Tim Burton’s first full length theatrical
release. It’s a film that shows that Burton was a director with creativity from the very
get go. Any other director might have turned Pee Wee’s first film into a crappy
movie, but in the hands of Burton it ended up being an extremely entertaining
film. Wanna see how disastrous a Pee Wee Herman movie can be without Burton? See
the sequel to Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Big Top Pee Wee (1988) for proof of
this. That terrible sequel was directed
by Randal Kleiser, unfortunately he dropped the ball big time! Big Top Pee Wee
had none of that special Tim Burton magic that the first film had in spades. Pee
Wee’s Big Adventure is filled with that special brand of wackiness, that
craziness that has always characterized a Burton film. Things get even crazier
because of Paul Reuben’s performance as Pee Wee Herman. On the Pee Wee side of
things he’ll give us memorable lines of
dialog like “I know you are but what am I?” and on the Tim Burton side of
things we get things like ‘Large Marge’ the ghost of a lady trucker who gives Pee
Wee a ride down a lonesome spooky rode. Ah the beauties of a Burton/Reubens
collaboration makes me wish they got back together again for that Pee Wee
Herman comeback we’re all foaming at the mouths for. At the end of the day, it
was the joining of these two geniuses that makes Pee Wee’s Big Adventure the
gag filled, over the top movie that it is.

Comments: Funny, I
was bashing director Randal Kleiser for Big Top Pee Wee (1988) a paragraph ago,
and here I am praising him for Flight of the Navigator. Truth be told, Kleiser
has directed many memorable films, it’s just that Big Top Pee Wee was not one
of them, well, at least not for me. But the rest of his repertoire? Not bad at
all, I mean, this is the guy that made Grease (1978) and Blue Lagoon (1980)! We
can add Flight of the Navigator to his list of memorable films. It tells the
tale of David, a kid who travels to the future on an alien spaceship. He disappears
on July 4th 1978 then reappears in 1986 and hasn’t aged a day! His little
brother is now older than him! His family can’t believe he’s reappeared and of
course, the government thinks this needs to be looked into. When David decides
to escape on the spaceship, a cat and mouse chase ensues. How cool is the premise for this movie? A kid who gets his own spaceship! Awesome! The voice of the
spaceship was done by Paul Reubens, so it kind of makes sense that Ruebens and
Kleiser ended up working together on Big Top Pee Wee. The film also stars a
very young Sarah Jessica Parker. And yet
another thing that makes this one stand out is that it was also one of the
first few films to continue experimenting with the use of computer animation,
the alien spaceship in the film was mostly handled through the use of computer
graphics.

Quote: “Well, that all depends, do you want New Coke,
Classic Coke, Cherry Coke, Diet Coke or Caffeine Free Coke?”

Film: The Karate Kid (1984)

Comments: If you were
a kid during the 80’s and grew up seeing this movie (the way I did) then
chances are you probably acted out the “wax on, wax off” scene and at the very
least tried to duplicate Daniel San’s final flying kick, I know I did. But you
know what? Of course I tried doing that kick, that moment in the film really gets
to you. And why does it get to you? Because this is a film about people, this
is a film where we care about these characters and the situations they are
living in, this was something that in my opinion was missing from the remake
starring Will Smith’s kid. I never really connected with the kid the way I did
with Daniel San in the original film. To me it was lacking the emotion. Yeah
Jackie Chan did a great job, but Hayden Smith just didn’t make me like him. He
had too much of an attitude, he was too cocky and what we needed was a young
man who was vulnerable, something that Ralph Machio delivers perfectly in the
original film. What works best is the chemistry between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi,
his landlord and karate trainer. Midway through the movie we learn that it’s
not only Daniel San who needs Mr. Miyagi. The old wise man also needs someone
to light up his life, the friendship they develop is the glue that holds the
film together. And it’s this bonding that makes us care for everything else. A
true underdog story; something that director John G. Avildsen specialized in.

Comments: The great thing about Karate Kid Part II is that
the whole creative team returns! We get Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki Pat Morita
reprising their roles and we also get director John G. Avildsen back, this is
something I like about these first three Karate Kid movies, they were all
handled by the same director, so they have that continuity to them. In my
opinion, this is that rare sequel that surpasses the original. I mean, it’s
more epic, just the fact that the film is set in Okinawa makes everything way
more interesting, yet, even though this film is obviously a bit bigger in
scope, it still manages to remain its heart, something that I love about these
movies. It still has that great relationship between Miyagi and Daniel, and it
gives both of them challenges of their own to face in Okinawa. Both of them
find love and both of them make their own enemies. I remember loving the locations
where they shot the film and those scenes where Daniel falls in love with the
Asian girl and all the rituals they go through, beautiful imagery there. I also
enjoyed the culture clash Daniel goes through. All in all, a great sequel that
surpasses the original in many ways. Highly recommended!

Quote: “Daniel San, never put passion before principal. Even
if win, you lose.”

Film: Masters of the Universe (1987)

Comments: If you were
a kid during the 80’s there were a series of toys you just had to have. Let’s
see, for the boys there was G.I. Joe, Voltron, Transformers and for the girls
there was Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony and Strawberry Short Cake. The
80’s was a time when the powers that be made animated television shows that
served as half hour commercials for their toys. One of the most prominent ones
was of course He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Boy did these guys sell
toys! Even though my collection was made up mostly of G.I. Joes (I had a hefty
collection!) I also had my fair share of Masters of the Universe toys. So of
course when this film came out I was excited as hell! I was sad to learn that
this movie didn’t make much money at the box office because for some reason
people thought it sucked. I didn’t. For me this movie ruled! It was directed by
a guy called Gary Goddard, he never directed a film again in his life after
this one (Hollywood doesn’t forgive!) but he has directed a lot of those movies
you see in theme park rides like T-2 3-D Battle Across Time. And that makes a
whole lot of sense because in many ways this film is like an amusement park
ride. There are tons of visual effects and some truly beautiful art direction.
Dolph Lundgren was awesome as He-Man in my book and Frank Langella delivered
some awesome lines as Skeletor, he dominates the screen as the villain. Yeah,
along with everybody else I wish more of the film had taken place in Eternia,
but that’s only a minor hiccup in my book. The whole story about these musical
keys that open up doors to other dimensions was pretty cool. Not as bad as some
might have you think.

Quote: “Men who crave power look back on the mistakes of
their lives, pile them all together and call it…destiny.”

Film: Invaders from Mars (1986)

Comments: This was Tobe Hooper’s remake of the classic
science fiction film from the 50’s Invaders from Mars (1953). It tells the same
basic story of Martians landing in David Gardner’s backyard. It has that age
old premise of the kid who knows everything that’s going on in his town, but
nobody believes him. Everyone in town is turning into brainless zombies who
serve the Martians, can David convince the United States Army about the
invasion? Can David trust anyone? I always enjoyed how this film plays with
paranoia, that idea that you can’t trust anybody because everybody has turned
evil. In that sense, this film reminds me a bit of similar fare like Invasion
of the Body Snatchers and Rosemary’s Baby (1968). This particular version of
Invaders from Mars has in my opinion excellent monster effects, the aliens
embody various forms, one of them is what can only be described as a living,
breathing brain, the monster effects by the way were handled by make up effects
legend Stan Winston, which would explain their awesomeness. An interesting part of this production is that
it stars b-movie actress Karen Black, who plays a third grade teacher. And even
more interesting is that she acted alongside her real life son, Hunter Carson,
who plays David Gardner.

11 comments:

I grew up with these movies and love most of everything you posted here as much as I love my favorite horror films. Monster Squad and Neverending Story I got to see in the cinema a few years back. Also, Goonies I saw in 1998 at a midnight showing. Explorers and Labyrinth have always been favorites. I just watched Labyrinth two nights ago actually. Own the soundtrack and love it. Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Flight of the Navigator are total classics. What I like about all of these "kids" films is that most of them scared the ever living shit out of me when I was young. Large Marge, the kid not aging in Flight, Dracula screaming bitch into that little girl's face, the Southern Oracle and the wolf and Artex dying, One Eyed Willie and that skull with knives through the eye sockets, and David Bowie's crotch. All truly horrifying visions my fiend.

Drunken Wizard: Funny how you mention the horrifying side about these kids films, it is so true, the samething happened to me with another film I will be mentioning no part 2 of this article, Return to Oz! That room with the Qeen Mombis different heads, that was some scary shit, for a kid anyways. Probably the reason why it wasn't a huge hit. Samething with Monster Squad.

I too own The Labyrinth soundtrack, Bowie really made a special soundtrack with this movie...I mean, the guy really recorded some great songs!

Jimmmie: She's a puppet Jimmie!

Eddie: Agree, I am a fan of Dekkers, everything he has somehow been involved I love, I mean, he wrote freaking that 80's horror classic: HOUSE (1986) which I freaking love to death! He's a guy who really truly gets sci-fi and horror, so sad that all of his films tanked at the Box Office, but it's awesome that they still live on through home video.

So many classics especially with "Explorers" which I still have fond memories of staying up late to watch with my dad, while "Annie" I hold a special place in my collection for much like "Calamity Jane" and "The Red Shoes".

This list also reminds how screwed up so much of the 80's movies were, especially with "The Dark Crystal" and "The Never Ending Story" both having childhood scaring memories, while Pee Wee is on a whole new level of messed up and always felt like what would happen if Earnest did crack (shame they never made that one).

Yeah, Explorers is a special one, I'm thinking of doing a proper review for it, I ended up re-watching it last night, still holds that special something I love so much about it.

The Dark Crystal, yeah, it does have that freaky scene where the Skeksis are literally sucking the life out of those little slave creatures....and The Never Ending Story had that wolf creature with the red eyes...Pee Wee...wooo...Pee Wee has got it's fare share of creepy weird scenes like for example that sequence where Pee Wee has a dream with some evil clowns dipping his bike in fire...with the devil urging them on.

Ha, ha, I always saw the Ernest movies as more innocent, my favorite being Ernest Goes to Jail, I don't think they ever got any better than that one. But I also enjoy his Christmas and Halloween movies, but Goes To Jail was always the cream of the crop as far as Ernest movies went.

Ha ha, agree, I can't believe they didnt take that into consideration when the time to do wardrobe design came along. I mean, this is a kids film after all! Glad you enjoyed the articles, stay tuned for more 80's fun in the coming days...sadly the 80's blog-a-thon is coming to an end this month.